The Villain Princess survived the Imperial Riot

"Have it?"

"Yes, you have become more generous, more stable, and more mature than before."

Domis thought of the little girl who used to shiver in the filthy alleys of the slums and speak with a country accent. It was hard to reconcile her with the calm and composed girl of today.

"Maybe...right?" Viola smiled calmly. "People always have to grow up."

"Princess..." Domis looked at her, her deep eyes full of tenderness. She pressed her best friend's hand on the bed and couldn't help asking, "Is it okay for you?"

"Your Highness is very kind to me."

"Has it happened to you?"

"Ok?"

"That kind of thing, sex..."

"Domis!" Viola's cheeks flushed instantly, and she said coquettishly, "If you continue like this, I won't talk to you anymore!"

"Sorry……"

"Hehe, I'm just kidding." The black-haired girl raised the corner of her mouth, and she actually looked a little cunning like a silver dragon.

Domis was not angry, but clenched her hands tighter and held them in her arms: "Viola, if it was me who confessed to you before you met her, would our situation today be different?"

"Uh..." Viola finally noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere. She carefully broke free and hid under her clothes, feeling overwhelmed. She smiled awkwardly, "I don't know, Domise, it's just... I like His Highness, and there's no room for anyone else in my heart. I mean, that kind of... Can't we just be friends?"

"Of course," Domis breathed a sigh of relief, no longer thinking about it, "I was just teasing you, idiot. Although I like you, I'm not bad enough to interfere with your feelings."

"You!" Viola glared at her, picked up a pillow and threw her friend to the ground, took off her shoes and scratched the soles of her feet, "You teased me too, you teased me too!"

She had been teased by the princess many times, and now she was taking revenge on her best friend, which was a different kind of pride, and she could stand up from now on.

The two were fighting when they heard a commotion outside.

Viola stopped what she was doing and went out with Domis to check. She asked the maid, "Miss Charlie, what's going on outside?"

"It's someone the master knows. It seems he owes a debt and is being pursued..." The maid was also confused and simply shook her head. "Oh, anyway, it doesn't seem like a good thing. Miss, why don't you go back to the room first? I think the master should handle this matter."

Volume 121: Caged Bird: . Caged Bird

Outside the Leland mansion, a haggard young man was waiting anxiously at the door. He looked around and when he saw the peaceful Mr. Leland come out, he immediately stepped forward and took his hand:

"Help me, Mr. Li Lan. No one wants to take care of me now. Only you can save my life!"

Half a year of rich life had not washed away the wrinkles on William Leland's face. His former honesty had turned into his current easygoing nature.

Since his family became rich, William Leland was free from the heavy work that was exhausting his life. Naturally, he could not return to the life of a dock worker, so he opened a textile factory at the encouragement of his friends and Mrs. Mason from Little Mouse Lane.

He didn't have much knowledge, but he was not a man without his own opinions. He understood that the textile factory was suffering serious losses, but he didn't care particularly.

Firstly, the losses from the textile mill were a drop in the bucket compared to the land gifted by the princess. Secondly, William Leland always felt unworthy of this generous reward, and it was always hot under his belt. So, while he pretended to be doing business with others, he actually just wanted to distribute the money so that more people could have jobs and food.

This established William Leland's good reputation in just two weeks, and it also led to him spending all his time on charitable work, apart from the necessary social interactions with regional bureaucrats.

Mr. Leland inherited his eldest daughter's kindness, but compared to Viola's reasonableness in making decisions, he is not good at refusing others, especially those he knows well.

"Lundy, slow down and tell me what's going on?" Mr. Leland patted the young man's shoulder to comfort him. He was quite familiar with the young man, having worked as a laborer at the dock together.

In my impression, Lundy Durr is a loyal and straightforward person. He occasionally treats his coworkers to drinks. Apart from gambling, he has no obvious shortcomings.

"Dure, you really know how to find a good place." At this time, several men with ferocious faces chased over. When they saw the middle-aged man who was begging Lundy Dur, their sinister eyes suddenly became gentle.

"What's going on?" Mr. Leland frowned.

He recognized the emblems on the sleeves of the big men.

The newly emerged Two-Edge Gang at Coral Pier, a gang with a background stronger than iron, controls the people of Coral Pier. They are loyal to the Empire's new rich, the Black Sea Baron, a ruthless man who has a hand in both the underworld and the underworld. More than half of the tens of thousands of households in Coral Pier depend on his power for their livelihood.

"It is like this, Mr. Leland..."

The big man in the lead stepped forward, an extremely incongruous, enthusiastic smile appearing on his scarred and distorted face.

It turned out that Lundy Dur owed the Black Sea Lord thousands of gold shields in the casino and also mortgaged the White Sea Fisheries Company's fishing boats. Now both parties are looking for him and want to bring him to justice.

After hearing the big man's explanation, Mr. Li Lan said nothing and looked at Lundy Doerr with a look full of regret.

One thousand gold shields, this is the annual operating cost of the textile factory.

"Don't listen to him, Mr. Li Lan. I don't owe them that much. I only borrowed less than 400 gold shields. In three months, they asked me to pay back 1,300 gold shields! It's their casino. There's something wrong with their casino!" Lundy Dur knelt down. "You have a good reputation, and your daughter is a servant in the Princess's mansion. You must seek justice for me and appeal to the justice of the imperial law—"

"Sir, isn't usury a bit..."

"Legal justice should be upheld by the court." At this moment, a soft female voice interrupted Mr. Leland's deliberation. Viola came over and whispered softly, "Whether it's a crime or a responsibility, we are just unknown civilians and have no right to make a decision."

"Miss Lilan, you, do you remember that last year, when the teacher was raising money for your tuition, I also lent him two hundred shillings! The IOU from last time—" He fumbled in his arms, pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, and looked pleadingly, "Have you forgotten our past friendship now that you've become rich?"

"Ugh……"

William Leland sighed and was about to speak when the leading man said, "Mr. Leland, we know you have a good reputation, but please don't plead for this gambler. He owes the Lord 1.6 million francs, oh, that's 1,300 gold guilders, but he owes more than just the Lord. Haha." He pointed at Lundy Dull's head and said, "This guy not only mortgaged his family's shop, but also took advantage of his sister's marriage to Lord White Sea to mortgage the White Sea Fishery Company's fishing boat to the bank to defraud gambling money. And guess what? Ha, he lost it all and pawned the fishing boat to Lord Black Sea. We are not here to kill him, but to capture him and have a proper discussion with Lord White Sea about this lawsuit!"

"It wasn't me. You were the one who instigated me to do that. You were the one who took me to the casino. You dug it for me..."

"Asshole!" The big man slapped Lundy Durr to the ground, and his teeth were broken. He grabbed Durr by the back of the collar, like dragging a dead dog, and laughed, "Sir, you work for the princess, and our lord also works for the princess. Maybe there will be a source of cooperation in the future! This kind of gambler who is hated by heaven and man does not deserve to die. But this lady is right. The empire abides by the law, and we naturally have to handle conflicts according to the law. Hahahahaha——"

He dragged Lundy Dull, whose mouth was bleeding, onto his horse, whipped it and rode away.

"Dad, he looks like he's dying." Alice poked her head out from behind the maid's neck.

William Leland sighed deeply and said helplessly, "Okay, kids, go back to the house. I'll mediate this matter..."

Having said that, he didn't know whether he should get involved.

"Go back to the house, Domis." Viola looked at her friend with a cold expression.

The blonde girl stared at the horseshoe prints left by the debt collector, as if she was watching the traces of a dead person dissolving.

Viola saw Domis's disgust and knew her friend always hated such bullying, so she comforted her, "The law that Dur broke will be punished by the judge. Similarly, Her Highness will not tolerate those atrocities against the common people."

"I'm fine." Domis shook her head.

She didn't care about Lundy Dole or the gang at Coral Pier.

What really concerned her were those debt collectors.

They were once part of the Yunling rebels, surrendered to the princess during the turmoil, and massacred hundreds of their comrades in various strongholds along the Yunling coast.

Among them are the reformers of the Reformation Series, the Fran Army of the Glorious Series, and of course some birds of the Freedom Series.

The Lord Black Sea they followed was a traitor from the Freedom Clan. He backstabbed his own captain Ella and later destroyed several Freedom Clan strongholds in Cloudtop City.

Viola nodded without saying anything.

She didn't like what Lundy Doerr did, but she hated the lawless gangs that set up traps and harmed the people even more. The reason why she didn't seek justice on the spot was because of the other party's undisguised "cruel" spirit.

That spirit was violent and cruel, very much like the Blade Mystic described by Ms. Ainiwei.

Does His Highness have such loyalists under his command?

The black-haired girl frowned, thinking that His Highness must be unaware of these people's evil deeds. When she returned to Yunting Villa, she would expose the evil side of Yunding City to His Highness and restore order to the city!

……

In the boundless deep sea, ocean-going ships are speeding along with flying sails. The blue-green ocean currents are like a flowing desert, and the sailors lying on the side of the ship are looking forward to it.

Crossing 20,000 nautical miles from the Isua tropical archipelago can wear down the will of even the most determined sailor.

Not to mention the treacherous journey, which not only involves passing through pirate-infested routes, but also crossing fog, reefs ruled by mermaids, and many other treacherous seas. Countless ships are lost every year, but the ruins and wealth of the New World still attract brave men and women to embark on the journey.

But to the sailors' surprise, this voyage seemed to be blessed by the goddess of luck. Not only did they not encounter any cruising pirates or mermaids, but there was also almost no bad weather.

Three months ago, a terrifying storm blanketed the sky, its thick black clouds obscured half the heavens. Yet, even as the ship was about to be ripped to shreds by the hurricane, its heart-wrenching waves rising hundreds of meters high, the storm simply brushed past the ship, leaving no one injured or killed.

At the bow, a figure in a white robe stood under the clear sky after the clouds and rain had stopped. The sailors coming and going ignored it, as if the pure white cloak was invisible and intangible air.

The white robe covered the silver tool, with no facial features, except for a diagonal scar on the soft silver. The scar formed a crack deeper than the skin, and it flashed with an imperceptible pupil light.

To the left of the white robe stood a kind-faced priest. He was in his eighties, dressed in a black and white surplice, his hands hidden beneath wide, naturally draped sleeves, as if facing the dawn, or the setting sun against it.

"The next stop is Kaslat." The priest smiled warmly, like a spring breeze. "How do you feel about returning to the Old World?"

"As always." The man in white robe replied calmly.

"Aren't you going back to your hometown to take a look?"

"Migratory birds have sacrificed their feathers to the wind. They have always been on the move, and death is their only destiny."

"What a pity! Are you so unsure?" The priest placed his bony hands on the side of the ship and looked directly at the sunlight at the zenith.

"Of course there is."

"What gives you the confidence? Or do you simply want to challenge the authority of Heaven and leave an immortal beacon?" the priest asked. "Do you think now is the time?"

"Scars have taught me that there is never a right time, but within them lies the voice of the past. Any time is the right time," said the man in white robes. "If someone always thinks they need to step back and wait for the right opportunity, then the right time will never come."

"For a hundred years, freedom and change have been the root causes of unrest in Fran. I only saw the decline of Fran, but not the damage to the tower."

"The Tower is constantly shaking, Father. You're wrong about one thing. Freedom and change aren't the source of unrest; they're unrest itself. We were born because of the Tower. I didn't create the chaos, but the Tower gave birth to me. Even without me, the unrest wouldn't diminish in the slightest. Those consumed by desire, confusion, death, and extreme pain will always choose a place to lean on, even if the Tower itself is caught in it."

"Are you so sure that Lorraine's extinction will lead to the empire's collapse? Why didn't Heberus completely take control of the Southern Empire?"

"You are old, Father. You have been away from the Old World for too long, and your reverence for the God-Emperor remains." The white robe chuckled. "But you don't know that the foundation of the tower is both on earth and in heaven."

"..." The priest thought for a moment and said, "I would like to hear the details."

"Nothing is constant; the Nine-stroke Whirlpool is the constant. He is the spiral of internalization, the balance of intercourse, one outside, the other inside. His achievements will not be broken. The kingdom of the wise emperor is based on order."

"The history of Rafaan?"

"Six thousand years ago, the Rafaan Empire ruled the Old World. The Elders held high positions, and myths roamed the land. Even the Gods had to yield to Rafaan's history," the white-robed man said gently. "However, the ruler of Rafaan was not the God of Order."

"There is no god of order." The priest knew the history.

"There is no God of Order. Nine Elders of Order rule. They unify the laws of the material world, bringing order to heaven and earth."

"Nine Wise Emperors, even so, they ultimately fell apart because of their desires."

"But the legacy of order remains; this is the very root of the God-Emperor. To restore order, He must regain control of the Nine Great Paths. However, this is not the work of one person alone, so He built nine towers, hoping to imprison the root. But to date, only three of the nine towers remain."

"Order, Glory, Eternity," the priest said. This was the inherent domain of the Divine Emperor. Before he became a Su-god, he was already the elder of the three branches.

"The Furnace Punishment was replaced by its creator, leaving the God-Emperor with only half of its power. The power of Heaven lies beyond, and the land of Rus blocks the entrance to the sky. Secrets are hidden, the green is dim, the void is empty, and the struggle is endless. Every conquest of the Empire is a completion of the Tower, a reflection of the heavens by the human world. Lorraine's heir is extinct, and the chaos in the Southern Empire is like a blade piercing the heart of destiny. The world seems to believe that the omnipotent Iron Army can suppress all rebellion, but only the one who sits high in the Divine Capital knows how fragile his life and the life of the Empire are."

"You want to destroy the Empire's tower in Fran." A gleam of light flashed in the priest's eyes.

"He will complete my Oneness, but nothing in this world remains unchanged. The Tower of Change has never stood, yet like a cancer, its poison has long since seeped into every part of it." The white-robed man's voice turned cold. "Change and order are mutually exclusive and mutually exclusive. The seed of change is ever-present and will never cease to grow."